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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27921562">Isn't this INTERESTING</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeweloftheWorld/pseuds/JeweloftheWorld'>JeweloftheWorld</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abandonment Issues, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But all the Dippy Fresh hate, Episode: s02e19 Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality, Family Issues, Fearamid, Gen, Guilty Dipper Pines, Hurt No Comfort, I swear this isn't Mabel hate, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Mabeland, Poor Dipper, Same goes for Soos and Wendy, Tags may be changed or added, Weirdmageddon, not yet anyway, sibling angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:14:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27921562</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeweloftheWorld/pseuds/JeweloftheWorld</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper fails to convince Mabel to leave the bubble. Now he faces the burden of saving the world on his own.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Cipher &amp; Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher &amp; Ford Pines, Dipper Pines &amp; Ford Pines, Dipper Pines &amp; Mabel Pines, Dippy Fresh &amp; Dipper Pines, Dippy Fresh &amp; Mabel Pines, Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez &amp; Dipper Pines, Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez &amp; Dippy Fresh, Wendy Corduroy &amp; Dipper Pines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Paradise Lost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This may just be a one shot or it may spiral out into a larger fic. I have some ideas as to where it could go next but I think it works fine on its own.<br/><br/>*I do plan to continue this but it may be a while</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The court case was a disaster. Dipper let his anger and fear get the better of him. He loved Mabel but she was so willing, happy even, to replace him and she was being so selfish. When he should have been sympathetic, he called her a coward, told her to stop hiding and face the truth. He sounded like Ford and that clearly wasn't what Mabel needed right now. </p>
<p>Now it was time to face his own fate but before he said goodbye and he tried one more time.</p>
<p>"Mabel, please, don't make me go out there alone. I'll never see you again. Doesn't that mean anything?" Maybe, if he apologized and kept his mouth shut about the real world, he <em>might</em> be allowed to stay but he could never accept this phony reality and he'd always feel guilty about not doing more. The bubble would become as hellish as the outside, even without Bill messing with him.</p>
<p>His sister had the audacity to look over her shoulder at that "Dippy Fresh" before she answered.</p>
<p>"I'm sure you'll be fine. You have Ford. Why would you ever need your sister?" Dipper shivered as the room literally became icy from the coldness in her voice. </p>
<p>He wanted to hit himself. How could he have been so blind? Of course, this was about the apprenticeship. He'd been willing to leave her. He <em>had </em>left her. Only when Ford was gone did he even think to look to Mabel for help. Maybe he was just as selfish as she was.</p>
<p>Well, if she cared more about this fantasy world than him then he could accept that. He wouldn't lay the guilt of everything that was happening outside on her shoulders, though Lord knows he needed someone to share the burden with. He wouldn't even tell her what she might be condemning him to. She chose Mabeland over her brother and he would respect her decision, no matter how much it hurt, but she had to understand what that decision meant. </p>
<p>Mabel didn't get to replace him.</p>
<p>"Here!" He shoved his hat into her hands. It hurt. Grunkle Stan had given him that. It reminded him of the adventurer, the hero, he'd become over the summer. Dipper couldn't go back to his family without Mabel anyway. "Something to remind you of your <em> real </em> brother." </p>
<p>His eyes started to sting. He wanted to wrap Mabel in a tight hug and never let her go. He wanted to cry on her shoulder and tell her how scared and helpless he felt. Instead, he turned away from the hurt look she was giving him and toward the people he'd come in with. </p>
<p>The view wasn't much better.</p>
<p>Wendy, the who he'd fought alongside, who could pull him out of a panic attack before it even started, was already chatting with the phony versions of her friends as they pulled her out the door. Soos, the closest thing he had to a big brother, was cooing over his "father's" pet pterodactyl and didn't object when the fake Dipper joined them. Dipper was going home alone. </p>
<p>No, not home, reality. Without Mabel, no place could ever be home.</p>
<p>He turned back to his sister one last time. "Mabel…" The tears were coming now and had to clear his throat a few times. "I still love you. You're still my sister. Please, I don't blame you for staying, any of you. If Wendy and Soos remember me, ask about me, tell them that, will you? That… and goodbye."</p>
<p>"Dipper, wait! You could-"</p>
<p>"No!" he cut her off. "I'm leaving. I don't want to leave you here. I don't want to leave you at all but I can't stay." Despite his tears, he stayed determined. He couldn't help Mabel in here. He couldn't help anyone.</p>
<p>He hesitated for just another moment, hoping that Mabel would say something, anything, but she wouldn't even meet his gaze. </p>
<p>"I'm sorry I wasn't a better brother. Goodbye Mabel." And with that, he strode through the portal to the outside world. </p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in the real world, Dipper curled up against the cliffside and just cried.</p>
<p>He failed. He had one chance and he blew it. Without Mabel, what was he supposed to do? Even Wendy and Soos were gone now. He was alone. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no one to turn to. It was hopeless and it was all his fault. Mabel was right to prefer some plastic version of himself. First, he abandoned her, twice, and now he'd failed her.</p>
<p>What now?</p>
<p>They lost. <em> He </em>lost: Ford, the Journals, Mabel, everything. Even Gideon was nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>But he couldn't just stop fighting. That wasn't who he was. That wasn't what Dipper Pines did and that wasn't what Ford would do. </p>
<p>He sighed and picked himself up. He'd fight till it killed him, which it probably would. </p>
<p>"Hey, kid. I need you to come with me." Dipper whipped around to find a strange blue figure with a keyhole carved into his massive forehead. At least a half-dozen eyebats surrounded him. Before he could even process what it had said, Dipper was racing for the treeline, frantically wiping his eyes to clear his vision. </p>
<p>Of course, Bill knew he'd escaped! He was surprised something hadn't been there to grab him the minute he left the bubble. But he'd escaped Bill's goons before. If he could just make it to the treeline… </p>
<p>Only when the net closed did he realize he'd run right into a trap.</p>
<p>"Not again!" Dangling 30 feet above the ground, he frantically searched his pockets for a knife or anything he could use the cut through the rope. Why had he left that pocket knife in his backpack? Instead, he started working to undo the knots. </p>
<p>"Come on. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I'd like to get back to the party and you mortals make for boring work even if the boss is interested in you for some reason." Dipper swatted at the blue figure that had already made its way up to the branch supporting the net.</p>
<p>"Let me down!" </p>
<p>"Well, if you insist." The ropes were suddenly cut and Dipper plummeted to the earth. The last thing he saw was a red light engulfing him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Cage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper wakes up in a cage in the Fearamid.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to a7mily and cynical_but_rad for commenting on the last chapter. It really helps motivate me to write.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper woke up in a cell. Well, calling it waking was generous. It felt closer to coming back from the dead. His whole body was stiff and the pins and needles in his extremities prevented him from standing at first. He rubbed at his legs, trying to get the circulation going and warm himself up a little. His skin was cold to the touch. </p>
<p>Looking around, Dipper realized that his cell was closer to a cage. Save for himself, it was empty. It wasn't very big, maybe 5 ½ feet cubed, not quite claustrophobic but hardly comfortable. No food or drink, which was a problem because his mouth felt like a desert and his stomach was trying to eat itself. So, all-in-all, bad. He didn't want to be here. </p>
<p>A million questions clambered for attention in his head, his heart raced, and panicked breaths exploded in his chest. He needed to clear his head and figure things out, focus on his intellect like Ford told him to do.</p>
<p>Stick to the facts, figure out what's going on:</p>
<ul>
<li>The rift broke, starting Weirdmageddon.</li>
<li>Bill captured Ford and burned the Journals.</li>
<li>Mabel was trapped in a weird bubble.</li>
<li>Wendy, Soos, and Gideon helped him get to Mabel.</li>
<li>Dipper managed to escape the bubble but Wendy, Soos, and Mabel were still inside.</li>
<li>He'd stupidly moped on the cliffside, giving one of Bill's goons a chance to ambush him.</li>
</ul>
<p>Dipper could see all that clearly but what happened after? How did he end up in a cage? </p>
<p>Had he passed out when he hit the ground? </p>
<p>He didn't seem to have any new injuries. An eyebat must have caught him and turned him to stone. So… he was probably in the Fearamid. Not good.</p>
<p>Okay… so, if he wasn't stone anymore then the others that were captured were probably fine too. So, where were they? For that matter, where was he?</p>
<p>Dipper was beginning to regret leaving Mabeland. He never could have let himself believe it, maybe he couldn't even have been happy there, knowing that it was fake, that it was a prison. At least that was a comfortable cage. At least he had his friends, family really. It was better than a cold, comfortless cell in a blank room in Bill's palace, wasn't it?</p>
<p>No! It wasn't! Inside the bubble, he had no way of getting to Bill. Now he was closer than ever! Besides, Ford was here somewhere! Dipper could find him and together they could take down Bill! </p>
<p>Or… at least escape. Maybe Ford could talk some sense into Mabel or find a way to destroy the bubble from the outside. If he had Mabel <em> and </em> Ford then Dipper knew Bill didn't stand a chance.</p>
<p>Right, plan of action, take control. </p>
<p>First step: get out of the cage.</p>
<p>Dipper had the president's key and there weren't any guards. All he had to do was open the lock and sneak around until he found Ford. Getting Ford out might be harder. He was probably guarded, maybe even by Bill himself, but Dipper would cross that bridge when he came to it. </p>
<p>It was an excellent plan! No overthinking, no reckless abandon, just a good mix of plan and improv. I would work because it had to work.</p>
<p>Too bad the cell didn't have a lock. </p>
<p>After several minutes of close examination and a few more of just jabbing the key at different spots like he'd seen Quentin Trembly do, Dipper was back to square one.</p>
<p>How to get out of the cage?</p>
<p>The whole thing was seamless. The bars, though irregular, had no gaps large enough to fit his head, let alone his shoulders. Even the bottom was fully attached, which officially made it a cage rather than a cell. Most of his supplies were in his backpack which was long gone and he doubted that his spare disposable camera would do much good. The magnet gun was busted and he'd tossed it in favor of helping Ford. </p>
<p>Now he <em> wished </em> there was a guard, someone he could trick into letting him out. The best he could do now was wait for some new variable. </p>
<p>Dipper didn't like that. It made him feel helpless. He needed <em> something </em> to occupy his mind or he'd start to panic. </p>
<p>Thoughts of what Bill might have planned for him were already starting to crowd in. Those two henchmaniacs had wanted to eat him before. Was that why they were collecting all the townsfolk? Were they just holding him until they got hungry again? </p>
<p>Dipper thought back over all the people the eyebats had taken. Surely they couldn't all be dead.</p>
<p>Okay, so why else would they take people? </p>
<p>Keyhole said something about Bill being interested in mortals. Why? Did Bill want slaves? Test subjects? Entertainment? </p>
<p>Probably the last one. </p>
<p>Bill liked to watch people struggle, fight against a fate that he saw as inevitable. </p>
<p>Had that desire ever led him to take unnecessary risks? </p>
<p>Unlikely. From the little Dipper had seen, Bill dealt with genuine threats efficiently. He'd wasted no time killing Time Baby and all the time cops. He captured Ford and burned the Journals almost immediately. Dipper supposed that Bill just didn't see him as a threat, even after escaping Teeth and 8-Ball, turning Gideon, and seeing through the bubble.</p>
<p>Well, if Bill was going to underestimate him then Dipper would just have to take advantage of that.</p>
<p>There was just one hole in his theory; Ford had been captured, not killed. It went further too. Bill had offered Ford a chance to join. What was Bill planning that he'd need Ford for? </p>
<p>Unless he didn't see Ford as a threat either. But why burn the Journals if Ford hadn't collected some knowledge that could help them defeat Bill? </p>
<p>No, Bill had something planned for Ford. Dipper needed to find out what that was. </p>
<p>How did he do that? </p>
<p>Well, Bill seemed amused by Dipper's temper and persistence. He'd probably turn up eventually to taunt him. When he did, Dipper needed to keep him talking, get as much information as he could. He was behind enemy lines right now. This was his opportunity to learn about his enemy.</p>
<p>It was easy. Just be belligerent enough to keep him entertained and be careful not to cross the fine line between that amusement and murderous rage. Not that he knew where that line was or had the self-control to walk it. Even if Bill didn't see him as a threat, that was no guarantee that he wouldn't kill him. </p>
<p>No, no, no, no, no, no, no! He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this! Dipper began to hyperventilate. He didn't want to face Cipher again, not on his own. He'd say something dumb and Bill would hurt him, maybe even kill him. </p>
<p>Back to Plan A. He had to find a way out. Now!</p>
<p>If there was a way in, then there was a way out. He looked at the cage again. The sides all had bars but the top and bottom were flat and smooth. The floor made sense but why the top?</p>
<p>Maybe it was a lid! Maybe he'd been dropped in!</p>
<p>Even jumping, he could just barely reach the surface above him. He tried climbing the bars but he couldn't get enough purchase to push with much force. After slipping and nearly falling for the fifth time without feeling any give, he gave up. </p>
<p>What he <em> did </em> discover with all that climbing, was that the cage wasn't that heavy. It would tilt just a little when he clung to the top of the bars. If he could tip the cage onto its side, he'd be able to reach the top without a problem. </p>
<p>Of course, being a 70 lb little boy meant that that was going to take a lot of force. Dipper pulled out a notebook and tried to calculate exactly how much force he would need and the best way to exert it. After nearly an hour of scribbling, he angrily scratched out his calculations. Like with everything else, he just didn't have all the variables! </p>
<p>If you can't solve a problem with logic, brute force it. </p>
<p>Dipper backed up against one wall, got a running start, and slammed his shoulder into the bars opposite.</p>
<p>Nothing. It tipped more when he wasn't even trying.</p>
<p>Okay, take two. He did the same thing but jumped right before reaching the bars so that he impacted a little higher. </p>
<p>That time there was a definite tilt. </p>
<p>After several more attempts experimenting with different heights and positions, the cage was on its side and Dipper was an exhausted, sore, and sweaty mess.</p>
<p>Now he just had to get the "top" off.</p>
<p>"Just push. Just push and it'll pop right open," Dipper muttered to himself. His adrenaline was wearing off but he couldn't give up now. He was so close. </p>
<p>Placing both hands directly into the center of the flat surface, he began to push.</p>
<p>Nothing happened. No give whatsoever.</p>
<p>With a frustrated sigh, he applied his already abused shoulder to the same spot and dug his heels in. </p>
<p>Still nothing.</p>
<p>After taking a minute to breathe, he tried to take it a run.</p>
<p>Nada.</p>
<p>He tried the same things with the flat surface that had been the floor. </p>
<p>Zilch.</p>
<p>In a last desperate measure, Dipper jumped up, grabbing the bars above his head and swung, slamming his feet against the lid again and again. </p>
<p>Suddenly, his hands slipped and he went crashing to the ground and he couldn’t get back up. He was hungry, thirsty, and tired and all he could manage to do was groan. </p>
<p>As he slipped back into unconsciousness, Dipper drowned in the conviction that, whether tomorrow or a year from now, from disintegration or starvation, he would die in this cage without ever seeing his family again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not much in terms of story in this one but I promise Bill will be in the next one. I have a storyline planned for Mabel too but I'm not at all confident in my ability to write scenes in Mabeland so please leave suggestions for wacky situations and creatures I can include but that will probably be 2-3 chapters from this one.<br/><br/>I have a Tumblr I'll probably post updates on.<br/>https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thejeweloftheworld</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading.<br/>This my first time posting here and feedback is greatly appreciated.<br/>Let me know if anyone wants more of this little AU. If Bill gets involved then the rating will probably go up. Hopefully no Billdip but I do not hesitate to write torture scenes.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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